An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer (contractor) of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
一位老木匠打算退休了。他向自己所在的建筑公司雇主請辭，表示想要和自己的老伴以及大家庭去過一種更加閑適的生活。他會想念領薪水的日子，但他還是該退休了，他想日子總是能過下去的。
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and usedinferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
老板很舍不得自己的好員工離開，他對木匠說請你再建最后一座房子吧，就算是幫我個忙。木匠答應了，但很快就明顯可以看出他的心已經不在工作上了。他用拙劣的技巧和劣質的材料建這座房子，用這種狀態來結束他的職業生涯其實是一種遺憾。
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
木匠完成了他的工作，負責人來驗收房屋，老板將這座房屋的前門鑰匙遞到了木匠手上，說：“這房子現在歸你了，作為我給你的禮物。”

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
木匠頓時感到很震驚。多可惜啊！如果他知道是在為自己修建這所房子的話，他會完全以另一種態度來對待。而現在他不得不住在這座自己胡亂修建的房子里了。
So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
這個故事也映射了我們的生活狀況。我們并沒有用心經營自己的生活，總是抱怨而缺少實際行動，并沒有全力以赴做到最好。最重要的一點是，我們沒有為自己的工作付出百分之百的努力。然后，當我們回過頭看為自己創造的生活條件時我們震驚了，和木匠一樣我們后悔了，要是知道我們是在為自己的生活打拼，我們可能就會用一種完全不同的態度來對待了。
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and withdignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."
想象一下你就是這個木匠，想象你正在建造這座房子，你每天釘進一顆釘子、安裝一塊板子或者筑起一面墻。請用心對待吧，這是唯一一個你為自己打造的生活。即使你只在里面住上一天，這一天也要活得有光彩、有尊嚴。正如格言所說，“生活是一個只有靠自己才能完成的項目。”
Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
誰還能說的再清楚些呢？你今天的生活就是你自己過去的態度和選擇的結果，你未來的生活就是你現在的態度和選擇的結果。

微信公眾號：英語美文朗讀 孟叔的微博：孟飛Phoenix 孟叔的抖音：184302945